Ballad of A Righteous Man
by Slayer-Nic
Summary: A new demon with a mission is in town.It's mission-To destroy powerful forces.2 of the most powerful forces live in Sunnydale-Angel and Buffy.The demon attacks Angel.Its up to Buffy and the gang to save him before its too late for them both.
1. Oh Ya Know The Usual!

It was a typically sunny, no breeze heatfest on Monday morning at Sunnydale High. To Buffy Summers this morning was just like every other. Being the Slayer, she had to check in with her watcher: the school librarian-Rupert Giles (or just Giles to her and the Scooby gang) after patrolling the night before.  
  
Buffy casually strolled through the swinging doors to the library and out of the morning locker rush.  
  
"Hey Giles" Buffy shouted as she approached the counter. "Here to tell ya I'm still alive and kickin." There was no answer. "Giles?"  
  
"Oh sorry Buffy. Ah, fascinating book." Giles replied holding up the book to show Buffy as he emerged from his office.  
  
"Right, gotta love... books!" Buffy said sarcastically.  
  
"How did last nights patrol go?" Giles inquired.  
  
On that note Xander and Willow swung open the library doors; probably chattering about their yawn worthy weekends Buffy thought and they both sat down at their usual table giggling. "Hi to you guys too" Buffy said quietly feeling a little overlooked.  
  
"Buffy? Last nights patrol?" Giles asked again.  
  
"Oh, patrol, right-ya know, the usual. Me, Mr.pointy and a couple of dead guys or not so dead guys and maxi-slayage.  
  
"How many were there?" Giles asked.  
  
"How many what?" Buffys eyes still fixed on her giggling friends. "Oh, vamps, yeah. Um... two. Staked em both. So yey me!" Buffy said smiling and feeling proud of herself.  
  
"Yes, well, very good then." Giles grinned and turned to head back into his office to read his book.  
  
"Ooh found this too," Buffy said before Giles could escape. She pulled out of her jeans pocket a small round amulet with a black stone in the centre. The diamond shaped stone had green mist swirling around inside it and the amulet was hung on a chain to be worn around the neck. Buffy handed it over to Giles "Oh how peculiar" he muttered to himself taking the amulet from Buffy and examining it. "I've never come across one of these before."  
  
"What is it?" Buffy asked.  
  
"An amulet of some kind. I shall have to consult my books." Giles replied.  
  
"Oh, an amulet" Buffy replied not really caring and started towards the table where Willow and Xander were sitting. Oz and Cordelia had now joined them. Giles returned to his office.  
  
"Hey guys" Buffy said again sitting down.  
  
"Oh hey" replied her best friend Willow Rosenberg.  
  
"Have a fun weekend?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Nope. Dull. Boring." Willow said in an it-was-great-but-I-don't-want-to- tell-you-about-it-coz-yours-wasn't voice.  
  
"Will what happened?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Nothing, really Buffy" Willow nervously replied.  
  
"Its ok. You can tell me how great it was even if mine sucked beyond belief due to an extra spurt of vampires this weekend, which equalled no fun for Buffy-again! And I'm babbling so I'm gonna stop now!" Buffy finished.  
  
"Good, no babbling. But you could have spent your weekend with Angel. If he's still talking to you after you sent him to hell for a few months of torture!" Cordelia said in her usual tactless way.  
  
"Ooh did I forget to mention. Cordy has this thing where sometimes her brain gets disconnected from her mouth!" Xander said trying not to make Buffy feel so bad with no real success.  
  
Buffy knew Angel wasn't in hell anymore and she knew he was back-same as ever. She didn't know why he was back but she was happy he was.  
  
"C'mon Will. Tell me about your not so yawn-worthy weekend." Buffy said.  
  
"Oz's band played at the bronze on Saturday night and they were really good- not that usually not good coz they are always good and Oz sung a song he wrote for me and it was really cute." Willow blurted out.  
  
"Well I did the backing vocals and smiled a lot!" Oz said in his typically Oz way! "Wow! Big. I'm sorry I couldn't be there to see it-chosen one and all that!" Buffy said. Willow smiled a really big smile, which covered up the guilt she felt for having such a good time when her best friend had to fight vampires just to survive.  
  
Then the bell rang for homeroom. 


	2. The Shadow

Deep underground where no light could penetrate the heavy darkness a tall, slim and yet muscled figure sits; surrounded in shadow, holding its hands clasped in front of its face masked by the hood of an ancient brown cloak while deep in thought.  
  
A small, controlled fire lit before the cloaked figure glows emerald green illuminating the dank underground chamber and creating distorted and twisting shadows, which dance across the walls by the light of the fire.  
  
An amulet draped around the figures neck sways to and fro as the cloaked figure silently rocks muttering words in its own native tongue.  
  
The diamond shaped stone in the centre of the circular silver amulet glows green as the flames before it and the mist and cloud within it begins to clear revealing a dark shadow. A shadow of a man. A man from times past. A man whose darkness rivals the creatures own. 


	3. Understanding

"And that is how the civil war finally ended." Mr Lynch the history teacher droned on as he had done for past half hour about the political ethics of the American civil war until the end of school bell rang on Tuesday afternoon making some students almost jump out of their own skin and merely waking up others.  
  
Buffy grabbed her bag, a stylish black leather shoulder bag and her pencil and hurried out of the classroom to escape the melancholic atmosphere always inhabiting that particular room. She glided down the corridor, squeezing through groups of students crowding the hall and seconds before reaching the library was joined by Willow and they both entered to find Giles sat at their usual table and as ever-surrounded by musty old books and probably not one of them published after 1600!  
  
"Hey Giles" Buffy said "Anything on the amulet thingy I gave you yesterday?"  
  
"Ah yes, nothing to worry about. It's just an amulet worn for protection from dark and evil mystical forces. First created many years ago by the Jakesh people to." Giles looked up at Buffy and Willows faces and realised he was getting into lecture mode and also that as long as it wasn't anything bad then they really didn't care so abruptly finished. "So yes, nothing to worry about-protection amulet."  
  
"Yeah this is the hellmouth so I guess they'd be pretty common around here huh Giles?" Willow asked quite intrigued about it.  
  
"Yes I would imagine that's the reason for it being recovered here." Giles replied.  
  
"So no beastie? Good, that's good. Only vamps for me to worry about now so I say yey!" Buffy said smiling.  
  
"Ooh speaking of vamps, aren't you seeing Angel Friday night for a little rough and tumble?" Willow asked in a giddy manner.  
  
"Oh dear lord! Boy talk! I shall um... retire to my office!" said Giles quite uncomfortably, as he was not Angel's biggest fan but the thought if listening to Willow and Buffy talk about boys, dates and kissing intimidated him more they knew! "Girls!" He muttered and disappeared into the quiet sanctuary of his office.  
  
"Yeah, we're gonna patrol together, talk a little" Buffy said excitedly.  
  
"Kiss a little" Willow added giggling.  
  
"Maybe" Buffy said cheekily and girlie giggles ensued! "So, you and Oz, we talking third base yet?" Buffy inquired.  
  
"Not yet" Willow replied.  
  
"Not yet? So you've thought about it?" said Buffy.  
  
Willow just giggled.  
  
Buffy was happy for Willow, and maybe even a little jealous. Buffy slept with Angel once-just once and he turned evil "into Mr.killing spree" as Cordelia once put it. But that'd never happen to Willow and Oz and she couldn't help but wish that Angel was human. She wanted it more than anything else in the world but it would never be. Angel was a vampire and he was gonna stay that way forever Buffy thought. Even after she's gone he'll still be there. Alone. Willow had never really had a proper boyfriend before Oz and now she'd finally found someone-the perfect someone and Buffy was so pleased that her best friend was happy, but it only masked her own sadness that her one truelove could never be with her-not properly and it hurt, sometimes more than she could bear. But she knew she loved Angel and for her it was enough.  
  
"Come on, lets get out of here" Buffy said.  
  
"Ooh, lets go to the espresso pump and get sugared up on mochas!" Willow replied.  
  
"Yeah ok!" Buffy smiled "And eat muffins-blueberry-with the crunchy munchy stuff on top!" She said.  
  
"Yummy" Willow said, and they walked across the library toward the exit.  
  
"Bye Giles" They both shouted in unison.  
  
"See you tomorrow" A faint reply from Giles sounded and the girls made their way out of the library and to the Espresso Pump for mochas and muffins! 


	4. The Truth Hurts

"Bye Mom, love you." Buffy kissed her mother Joyce Summers goodbye as she prepared to go night patrolling.  
  
"Be careful!" Joyce shouted after her as she was about to leave the house.  
  
"I will Mom don't worry." Buffy assured her mother.  
  
"And don't talk to strangers, or take candy from them... especially band candy!" Joyce added. Buffy laughed. "I won't Mom. Later." And she left the house.  
  
********************  
  
The moonlight was dim as it shone down over Shady Hill cemetery. The light was half masked by the cloudy night sky as Angel and Buffy were battling two vampires. Two particularly strong vampires tonight!  
  
Angel ducked from a left hook delivered to the right of his face giving him the chance to spin the vampire around so that its back was facing him. Angel gave the vamp a strong kick to the waist sending his opponent into the wall of the Monte Dello crypt and then slumping to the ground. Angel quickly dusted the vampire; the lengthy fight finally over and turned to see Buffy slightly struggling. The vampire holding her down on the ground while she tried to reach for her stake only inches away from her fingertips. Angel promptly grabbed the stake and plunged it deep into the back of the vampire, piercing its unbeating heart and turning it to dust. Buffy got up; helped up by Angel and coughing from the vamp dust she just inhaled. "Eugh, remind me next time to wear clothes that don't show the dust up so much!" She said patting her clothes as clouds of dust emitted from them. Angel stretched his arm out and Buffy took his hand as he pulled her up. They both walked off in search of more vampires.  
  
"Thanks for saving me back there." Buffy said a little quieter and slightly embarrassed. "You always save me." She whispered.  
  
Angel turned to face her, his handsome features shadowed in the moonlight and his dark penetrating eyes staring deep into hers the way they always did. She felt like Angel could see her soul. The very essence of who she was. The entire world just melted away and there was just herself and Angel. They leaned into each other and Angels arm slid around Buffys waist and the other cupped her head and the side of her face as both her arms slid gently around his neck as they passionately kissed in the stillness of the night. Angel quickly pulled away. "No, I promised myself I wouldn't do this. Not again." He said.  
  
"Just kiss me." Buffy softly whispered.  
  
"I can't Buffy. We'll only want more and we can't. Not again." Angel slid one of his hands up Buffys arm so it held hers. "It can never be. Not really."  
  
"Yes it can. I love you Angel and that's the most important thing. It's all that matters." Buffy replied, desperation in her voice and tears welling up in her eyes. " It has to be."  
  
"Has to be?" Angel asked.  
  
Buffy's eyes widened as a tear rolled down her delicate cheek. "If I lost you, if I had to live without you in my life, not seeing you for a day is hard and it tears me up inside. But forever?" Buffy spoke; her voice quivering "Forever would be like..." she paused, her eyes wide with tears and she pouted a feeling upset.  
  
"... The end of the world" Angel finished.  
  
Buffy nodded, eyes welled up with tears and another tear rolled down her cheek. Angel wiped it away, his thumb gently sweeping across her face but she quickly looked away and started walking off in the opposite direction from Angel. He looked on and felt guilty for causing her so much pain and heartache but he knew it was for the best and he knew deep down, some part of him knew that Buffy knew too. 


	5. Suffering

How could he say those things to me? Buffy thought as she hurried through the eerie Shady Hill cemetery away from Angel. Buffy's tearstained face and widened tearful eyes glistened in the moonlight as the night sky cleared revealing the stars and the glowing moon.  
  
As Buffy made her way to the exit of the cemetery she heard a sudden loud cry of pain. A sound Buffy knew all to well from her years of slaying came from a male who was close by. "Angel!" Buffy whispered to herself and ran as fast as she could back in his direction, vaulting a graffitied bench on the corner of the road and heading deep into the cemetery.  
  
Buffy slowed to see a dark figure curled up on the ground in a mess of blood and black leather. "Angel" Buffy said as she swiftly knelt beside him, resting his head on her knees and whispering to him "Shhh, its gonna be ok."  
  
She looked around, only to see a dark hooded figure fleeing the scene.  
  
Buffy turned Angel over and saw that he was bleeding heavily from a large, deep wound in his chest. She saw the hope fading from his deep-set dark eyes and she took off her jacket and pressed it firmly over Angel's chest. The bleeding slowed after a time and Buffys blood soaked jacket became heavy. She hoisted Angel's muscular body up and wrapped one of his arms around her neck and the other around her waist and she set off, heading in the direction of the mansion determined to save Angel. He was her true love after all!  
  
********************  
  
Buffy laid Angels head gently down to rest on the pillows of his bed back at the mansion where he was living. She softly kissed his forehead and placed one of his hands on his chest and the other by his side and pulled up the covers over his body. She cupped his head in one and slid down his cheek, down his neck and over the patched up wound on his chest being careful not to press down to hard; her hand gently shaking. Buffy wiped her eyes, brushed her hair out of her face and got up to leave the room.  
  
"Bu... Buffy?" Angel stammered, his eyes barely open.  
  
She turned to face him. "I'll be back in a little while ok. I promise. Get some rest." She exited the room as Angel slowly closed his eyes in an attempt to shut off the searing pain racing through his body and he surrendered to the peacefulness of his surroundings and fell asleep. Buffy threw another piece of firewood onto the already roaring fire in the main entrance to the mansion and slumped down onto her knees before it and silently wept as the fire crackled and warmed her body, the intense heat from the flames pressing hard against her face as she struggled to hold together.  
  
She got up quickly and walked out of the old mansion, wiping her eyes again and intending to go to Giles to figure out what to do.  
  
He was a good man to be around during a crisis-Buffy knew that. He was a gentle man with a good heart and he always looked upon Buffy as the daughter he never had and he couldn't bear to see her suffer.  
  
Buffy approached the door to Giles' apartment with caution. She knocked and he opened the door to see Buffy standing there looking as though she'd been crying and with bloodstains all over her clothes.  
  
She looked up at him, her eyes welling up with tears again and she stepped forward into the familiar warmth and comfort of Giles' apartment and she hugged him. He held her tight and Buffy felt safe. Safe at last. 


	6. That Familiar Helping Hand

Buffy sat down in Giles' living room while he fussed around in the kitchen making tea which Buffy didn't like too much but she'd drink it anyway. Anything to take her mind off the past two hours. Wriggling uncomfortably on the couch, Buffy rubbed her hands up and own her upper arms-she wasn't cold, it just oddly comforted her.  
  
The next minute Giles set the tray of tea and the imported rich tea biscuits down on the coffee table and poured himself and Buffy a cup of tea.  
  
Buffy just munched on a biscuit for a moment and then said "Are you sure the amulet is for protection?"  
  
Astounded, Giles replied, "I'm as sure I can be relying on the resources I have at hand. I checked thoroughly at he school library but I can check again and show you if you like?"  
  
"No, its ok. Its just that... never mind" Buffy muttered.  
  
"No, please. Do tell me Buffy. I insist." Giles said patiently.  
  
Buffy looked up at him and pondered it for a moment. "Ok." She said and continued, "I was patrolling tonight, with Angel and we, err, he encountered this robey guy demon thingy and he, he got stabbed, right through the chest. Like right through his heart! When I got to him the... thing was running away"  
  
"And he... ?" Giles asked knowing Buffy knew what he meant.  
  
"Oh! No, he's not... dead. He's fine. Kind of. He's at the mansion. But I've never seen him bleed like that Giles. There was so much. Too much even. I just... my spider sense is tingling Giles and I think there's more to this amulet thing than we realise." Buffy said.  
  
"Well if you're... um... spider sense tells you then I would expect it's worth researching. You've been right before relying on your slayer attributes alone." Giles said.  
  
"Oh, me and my pop culture references! Sorry!" Buffy apologised.  
  
"No need." Giles said slightly smiling.  
  
"But um... Angel's in a bad way. I don't know if..." Buffy trailed off. Giles knew what she meant. He just gave her an understanding nod to let her know. He would help her save Angel. It destroyed him to see her unhappy.  
  
"The... whatever you saw, you said it wore robes. What else did you notice about it?" Giles asked her.  
  
"Um... nothing really. It was tall! I was too worried about Angel. I didn't get a good look at it but it's definitely not local." Buffy replied.  
  
Giles got up and started fetching books from all over his apartment. "I have a few volumes and texts here that could prove useful as to finding the origin of the amulet and that may lead us to whoever uses it. It may be the robed figure you saw running from Angel tonight or it could be something completely different altogether." Giles said.  
  
"Thanks for doing this Giles. It means a lot to me." Buffy smiled and began looking through an old tenth century book Giles handed her.  
  
After over an hours searching and cross referencing Giles had finally found something. "Of course!" He said sounding annoyed with himself.  
  
"What?" Buffy said desperately.  
  
"The amulet we have is often mistaken for that of the Jakesh people due to the design and decoration. But in actual fact this is a Rumadien Amulet worn by the Syrma-Matis clan." Giles stated.  
  
"Syrma-Ma what?" Buffy asked totally confused.  
  
"Syrma-Matis. Its ah, an ancient Samarian word and is roughly translated to eliminator of power." Giles said feeling quite pleased he'd managed to translate such a complicated language.  
  
"Eliminator of power? So your saying whatever uses that thingy goes around killing powerful forces? Energies? Or could it be people too?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Both I imagine. That's all the book says." Giles said.  
  
"Great! I liked it better when it protected people!" Buffy joked. She paused for a moment to think. "So you think the robed thing I saw running from Angel uses it? Oh my god!" There was a sense of fear in the tone of her voice. "Eliminator of power? It's gone after Angel. And it succeeded!" She said almost crying.  
  
"No Buffy, he's going to be fine. You have to be strong and help me and the rest of us help Angel." Giles said in his usual calm way.  
  
"Us?" Buffy asked. "Oh, the gang. Yeah, we can um... research tomorrow in the library."  
  
"Yes we can. I'll finish up here. You just need to go home Buffy and get some rest." Giles told her.  
  
"Yeah I do, I'm tired." Buffy said. "Goodnight." And she left Giles's and headed back to the mansion to see Angel before she turned in for the night.  
  
********************  
  
She approached Angel's bedside and his eyes began to open. "Buffy?" he said squinting in the candlelight.  
  
Buffy took Angels hand in hers. "Yeah I'm here. I told you I'd be back."  
  
"It felt like forever." Angel said.  
  
"Forever's not that long." Buffy said smiling, holding back the tears.  
  
"It hurts Buffy. I can't..." He broke off.  
  
"I know, we'll figure it out, make you well again. I promise." Buffy reassured Angel.  
  
"Buffy I..." Angel began.  
  
"Shh, get some rest. You need to rest." She said almost whispering. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Hold on ok." She kissed his head, replaced his hand on the bed, quietly left the mansion and headed home for some much needed sleep.  
  
"Your late." Joyce muttered, waking up on the sofa as Buffy tiptoed through the front door. "Rough night sweetie?" She asked yawning.  
  
"Something like that." Buffy said and went upstairs to her room. 


	7. That Old Gang Of Mine

As the bright Saturday morning sunlight from the few library windows shone down over Buffy and the rest of the Scooby Gang Xander pushed open the library doors and entered feeling proud he'd completed his first mission of the day. Everyone looked up at Xander as he said, "I come bearing sugary goodness. Just call me the donut king!" and he set the box of donuts down in the centre of the table.  
  
"Yeah, and we'll still be calling you the donut king when your seventy Mr. Low SAT Scores!" Cordelia remarked flicking through one of Giles' books.  
  
"Did we find anything yet?" Buffy asked Willow.  
  
"I've done a search for demons and sorcerers that wear the kind of old brown robes you described but lots came up so I'm having to go through them all one by one." Willow said a little disappointed she couldn't be more helpful.  
  
"Well this book is noooo help whatsoever. I don't even think its written in English." Cordelia said reaching for another, thinner book.  
  
Buffy looked at Xander. "Just call me the donut king," He said, not really having a clue what he was supposed to be researching.  
  
"Giles?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Well. We know the amulet is worn by the Syrma-Matis clan and that it's not for protection. We also know that whatever it's used for is not good." Giles sat down with the others and continued. "Syrma-Matis means eliminator of power and as Buffys theory goes; whatever uses the amulet intends to kill Angel as he is very powerful. Ah, extremely powerful." Giles finished.  
  
"You said it stabbed him in the chest" Oz asked or stated-no one could tell.  
  
"Yeah, like right in the heart." Buffy said. " But it'll heal pretty fast- vamps do"  
  
"But did it just stab him? I mean, is that all it did?" Oz continued.  
  
"What do you mean?" Buffy asked.  
  
The room went silent as though they were in thought and then Willow blurted out "Poison! It could have poisoned him when it stabbed him!"  
  
"My point exactly." Oz said.  
  
"And if it did?" Buffy asked looking at Giles.  
  
"He's probably gonna die slowly and painfully!" Cordelia said tactlessly.  
  
"Maybe. Or he could die a lot quicker if we don't figure it out." Giles said thinking about how to narrow down the search for information on the demon in question and how it uses the amulet. "Willow, could you run a search for demons who wear the robes but also poison their victims by stabbing them?" Giles asked.  
  
"Sure." A few taps later and Willow had the information she needed.  
  
"What about the amulet?" Buffy asked.  
  
"The amulet is irrelevant at this moment but we'll come to it, don't worry." Giles said. Willow quickly read through her notes. "I got it! The Syrma-Matis kill their victims by stabbing them through the chest with a weapon protruding from its own body. Located at the base of the hand, the spike contains a lethal dose of poison that slowly deteriorates the health of its victim and eventually..." She paused.  
  
"What?" Buffy asked impatiently.  
  
"... Kills them." Willow said slowly.  
  
Buffy just stared at her, not believing what she was hearing.  
  
"That's all there is." Willow finished.  
  
"Buff?" Xander said. "We'll find a cure."  
  
"I hope so." She said trying to smile.  
  
"Ah, these volumes... " Giles pointed to some on the table as he reached for a jelly donut. "... Have reference to herbal compounds and other unnatural toxins."  
  
"I... I'm not feeling to well." Buffy muttered standing up. "I can't even concentrate."  
  
"This isn't an easy time I know." Giles reassured her.  
  
"I just wanna go home." Buffy said. "Will you guys be ok without me?"  
  
"Yes, get some rest." Giles said.  
  
"Thanks" Buffy smiled and left the intending to visit Angel and feeling perfectly fine. 


	8. Imaginings?

Buffy lay awake in her bed, lying on her back, staring at the ceiling and thinking only of Angel.  
  
Seeing him like that, in pain, almost dying distressed and frustrated her so much that she wanted to curl up in a ball and hope that it would all go away. She felt like she should be out there doing something, anything, anything to help Angel, and yet, for now there was nothing more she could do.  
  
Buffy slowly fell asleep around 3:30 am with Angel firmly fixed in her mind and deep in her heart.  
  
Buffy slowly and carefully neared the entrance to Angels mansion and she walked through the door and saw Angel stood leaning on the mantel piece dressed in all white trousers and a long sleeved v-neck top. The atmosphere didn't seem natural-it was almost hypnotising. Angel was looking into the flames of the roaring fire in the fireplace and as Buffy got closer to him he looked up at her. Buffy looked into the fire that Angel seemed so captivated by. At first all she saw were the roaring flames but then she stared deeper. The fire seemed to almost bewitch her and they began to flicker green. Just the tips of the flames flickered blue. Buffy saw an image start to form from the smoke emitting from the fire. There was a dark figure-just the head of a figure. Just a silhouette. A dark hooded silhouette of a figure. Buffy blinked and she was still looking into the fire but now the fire was as it been. Orange-yellow flames and the faint crackle of wood buckling under the intense heat.  
  
Buffy looked up at Angel who was stood patiently against the mantelpiece and looking at her.  
  
"What are you waiting for?" Buffy asked him looking confused.  
  
"You." Angel replied. A smile creeping onto his face.  
  
"I'll be here." She replied almost whispering.  
  
"You're the only one who can save me Buffy." Angel told her.  
  
"I know" She replied.  
  
She reached out to Angel's hand reaching for hers. Their fingertips merely inches apart and then Angel's started to wear away. They were turning to dust as Buffy reached for him. The dust just blowing away in an invisible wind. Just blowing away to nothingness. Angels hand, then arm and then slowly his whole body was becoming dust. Buffy looked at Angels face and his eyes were squinted in pain and Buffy watched him wear away to nothing before her. All that remained was the Claddagh ring he was wearing. The one that paired with hers. She knelt down and picked it up. She looked at the design with the crown over the top of the heart and then the hands surrounding it and whispered, "I'll be here." She walked out of the mansion and the noise and intensity of the fire inside increased; filling Buffy's head and deafening her as her alarm clock buzzed simultaneously telling her to wake up. She rolled over and tapped the top of it freeing her mind to silence. She just lay in bed for a moment and reflected on what had just happened in her dream, trying to make sense of it. Her dreams were often prophetic and cryptic. Was this one? 


	9. Infected

"So you believe this dream was a prophecy?" Giles asked.  
  
"Yeah, no, I don't know. It felt so real." Buffy said confused.  
  
"Like I said. Angels gonna die slowly and painfully!" Cordelia stated.  
  
"He's not gonna die." Willow said defending Angel.  
  
"No he's not. But he will if we don't find something that could help him. And fast." Buffy said.  
  
Giles bent over the table to retrieve a jelly donut from the Scooby Gang daily batch Xander fetched earlier that day from Mr.Donut.  
  
"Where have all the jellies gone?" Giles asked disappointed.  
  
"They'd ran out, so I got sugared and um... chocolate dipped instead." Xander said.  
  
"No jellies? That's preposterous!" Giles said walking over to his office shaking his head.  
  
"Yeah, I think they had reports of a British guy breaking in there and stealing all the jellies. All they found was a scrap of tweed material caught on the glass!" Xander joked.  
  
"Very funny!" Giles said smiling. Then his face turned more serious as he turned to Buffy. "Ah Buffy. Word in your ear." They both went into his office.  
  
"Please, take a seat." He said gesturing toward his swivel chair in front of his desk.  
  
"O... k." Buffy said, a little unsure of what to expect. "Giles what is this?"  
  
"Buffy, we may not be able to cure Angel, you do know that don't you." Giles asked her.  
  
"Well, yeah of course I do. I just hope it doesn't come to that." She replied.  
  
"Buffy, there are demons and natural poisons of course, that, well... " He struggled to get his words out.  
  
"What?" Buffy asked.  
  
"There are poisons without antidotes and cures Buffy. Either because the cure is too complex or simply because the poison is so powerful and potent that it does not respond to attempts made to neutralise it." Giles said.  
  
"Oh." She looked down at the floor. "But we can try right? The least we can do is try."  
  
"Yes, yes we can try." Giles smiled and they both rejoined the rest of the gang.  
  
Willow was tapping away on her computer, Xander eating donuts and looking at the occasional page, Cordelia looking at the pages but probably not reading the words and Oz actually contributing by trying to research the Syrma-Matis and its origins, strengths and weaknesses based on the limited knowledge they had.  
  
"Willow?" Buffy asked. "I just had a thought. Do you think if you could take a sample of Angels blood, you could figure out which poison it is or at least what's in the poison?"  
  
"Like whether is a natural compound or the demon makes it within its own body. Kind of like a... a defense mechanism?" Willow asked.  
  
"Exactly." Buffy replied.  
  
"I could try yeah. When do you wanna go?" Willow asked Buffy.  
  
"Now!" Buffy said and they both hastily left the library and quickly raided the nearest chemistry lab for the correct equipment and then set off for the mansion. "Snyder's going to kill us if he ever finds out!" Buffy said and the girls had a giggle.  
  
Meanwhile in the library Oz asked, "Do you think if we could kill this demon, we could reverse the effects it's had on Angel?  
  
"Its worth looking up, but then again anything is at this stage" Giles replied.  
  
"Oh my god!" Cordelia shouted.  
  
"What?" Xander asked thinking she'd hurt herself or seen a spider or something.  
  
"Buffy's in danger" Cordelia said.  
  
"Buffys always in danger, its part of being the slayer. She's a very powerful... " Giles trailed off realising what Cordelia meant. "Oh lord!"  
  
"You think this Syrma-Matis guy is gonna go after her?" Xander said concerned for Buffy's safety.  
  
"I don't know." Giles said. "It may very well do. She's powerful-very. She's the most powerful girl in the world."  
  
Cordelia looked at her book. "Vampires, demons and slayers alike have been killed by Syrma-Matis. No ones lived to tell the tale." Cordy read.  
  
********************  
  
Willow gently peeled back the dressing on Angel's chest and he flinched a few times obviously still in some pain.  
  
Buffy sat next to him and held his hand and he squeezed tight as Willow took a few samples of his blood, only looking up once to meet his gaze. She smiled. "All done." And she replaced the dressing.  
  
"You ok Angel?" Buffy asked.  
  
"I'll be ok." He said. "It's taking its time healing though."  
  
Buffy kissed his forehead and her and Willow and headed for the door.  
  
"Buffy?" Angel asked.  
  
"It's ok. Your fine. You'll be fine." Buffy said to him and left the room.  
  
"Lets go test this and see what's in it and if we can find an antidote." Willow said.  
  
"And if we can't?" Buffy asked.  
  
"We better go test this." Willow said avoiding Buffy's question as best she could. She smiled and headed for the exit from the mansion.  
  
"I'm gonna hang here for a while." Buffy said.  
  
"Ok, I'll see you back at school." Willow said and left. 


	10. Victim The Second

"Hey." Buffy said to Angel smiling. "I'm gonna stay here for a while. I'm not too good with the books or the science! Just the butch. Although you wouldn't think it to look at me!" She laughed.  
  
"I'm glad you're staying. I don't want to be alone." Angel replied, still appearing to be on considerable pain. "It still hurts Buffy."  
  
"It'll heal. Don't worry." She said.  
  
"No, I mean it hurts all over. Not just the stab wound. It's my arms, legs and my head too. It's inside me Buffy- right in my veins." Angel said.  
  
"Willow's working on it and I got the rest of the gang looking up the demon thingy." Buffy reassured him. "We'll figure it out. It's what we do."  
  
"I've nev... never seen anything like this or the demon before and I've seen a lot of things." Angel said.  
  
"We'll figure it out. We'll be fine." Buffy said. She felt a little uneasy to think even Angel hadn't seen this demon before but it'd pass. She smiled at him and he smiled back.  
  
********************  
  
"Guys I got it!" Willow said. "Well... kinda!"  
  
"So are we talking natural or unnatural?" Oz asked. "Although this being Sunnydale, I know which one I'd put my money on!"  
  
"Definitely unnatural." She said.  
  
"As I thought!" Oz said.  
  
"Its structure doesn't match any of the basic structures and form of a natural compound. Even the most simple bonds that you find in every organic substance don't exist in this." She looked up from her microscope.  
  
"Good work." Oz said and he kissed Willows head.  
  
"Yes, ah, well done. But this makes finding a cure a lot harder." Giles said. "Not only are we looking for a cure- but a cure specific to that demon and that poison." He continued. "I mean, with some poisons there are a number if cures, but I'm guessing with this one being made inside the demon itself its going to be a lot trickier to find one." Giles said.  
  
"Great! More research!" Cordelia moaned. "I'm gonna end up smelling like these musty old books, I spend that long in here lately!"  
  
Giles discreetly sniffed his tweed-clad arm and whispered to himself "I don't smell musty!" and tutted!  
  
********************  
  
As Buffy was sitting with Angel she heard footsteps treading gently in her direction. She got up. "That'll be Willow." She said to Angel and walked out of his bedroom, rounded the corner and saw a tall, hooded, brown robed figure standing before her. She looked up at it and her mouth dropped slightly open. "Not Willow." She muttered to herself!  
  
The demon swung at her with its right fist, Buffy blocked it and punched it right in the head. The demon flew across the room and into a wall. The demon got up and in a deep masculine voice said, "You will die Slayer." And he charged at her again. Buffy attempted a roundhouse kick as the demon approached her and she hit him in the left side of his body and the Syrma- Matis demon landed on the sofas by the fireplace. Buffy sat on the demon and punched him repeatedly in the face. He then gave her a strong shove and she fell to the floor. He got up and kicked her in the stomach while she was down. Buffy lay on the floor shielding her head and she was just about to trip the demon when he jumped up onto the sofa, leapt over the back of it and fled the mansion. Just before he left he turned and said, "This isn't over slayer. You will die. You and your precious vampire." He then turned and left.  
  
Buffy quickly got up to after him and she entered the shady courtyard, the flowers near the sun blooming beautifully and the rest either dead or wilting, she looked around for the demon but he'd gone.  
  
********************  
  
By now the library at Sunnydale High was getting dark and only the light from the table lamps illuminated the room.  
  
"So we have the poison and we have the demon but we have no cure right. And we have the amulet but we have no idea what it's used for. The only thing we know is it's not good right?" Xander asked.  
  
"Yes, and you contributed next to nothing." Giles said in harsh tone of voice.  
  
"Whoa, chill England. I was just asking. And besides you wouldn't even be awake if it wasn't for the amazing invention of Mr. Donut!" Xander said getting angry but only because it was getting late and he was tired.  
  
"Where's Buffy? I thought you said she was coming a little after you left the mansion and that was hours ago." Cordelia said to Willow and then continued. "Hey, maybe she finally did something about her bad hair and went to a salon and her hair was so bad they're still doing it!"  
  
"Yeah, I wonder where she is" Willow said dismissing Cordelia's comment on Buffy's hair but concerned her friend was so late.  
  
Just as Willow had finished her sentence Buffy came walking through the library doors.  
  
"Sorry. I kinda got held up!" She apologised. "And I fell asleep at the mansion. It's been a long day!"  
  
"Its ok. We're glad you're back safe. And I think we could all do with a rest." Giles said.  
  
"Yep I'm good to go!" Xander said.  
  
"We'll reconvene here in the morning?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Well yeah Buff! We have school remember?" Xander said jokingly.  
  
"Yeah unless you wanna give Snyder another reason to kick you out... again!" Oz said.  
  
"Ok. Yeah. Um... school right. See you all tomorrow." Buffy said and her and the gang made their way home looking forward to some much needed rest. 


	11. Investigations

Joyce Summers was in the kitchen making breakfast for Buffy which consisted of a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, a slice of toast with jelly on it and a bowl of cereal drenched in milk with a chopped banana on the top. Joyce knew Buffy had to eat healthily being the slayer and especially in the mornings.  
  
Buffy came into the kitchen looking tired.  
  
"You look tired sweetie." Joyce said.  
  
"Yeah, I didn't sleep well. Again!" Buffy replied and sat down to her breakfast.  
  
"Is it the slaying?" Joyce asked still coming to terms with the fact that her only daughter was a vampire slayer.  
  
"No. It's not that. I just have a lot of stuff going on at the moment." Buffy said.  
  
"Do you wanna tell me about it?" Joyce asked, hoping Buffy would tell her or at least give her some insight into the life of her daughter whom she felt was drifting away from her.  
  
"Thanks but I... I'd rather not." Buffy said, smiled and ate her breakfast.  
  
********************  
  
Buffy rushed down the hallways of Sunnydale high as students rushed and bumped past her in an attempt to get to their lockers or wherever they were supposed to be and she headed for the library as she did most mornings. Giles was there as usual with his head in a book while he surrounded himself with yet more books.  
  
"You find anything?" Buffy hastily asked.  
  
Giles jumped, Buffy's voice breaking the silence he'd become accustomed to that morning, nearly knocking a pile of books over and almost spilling his morning tea!  
  
"Oops sorry!" Buffy apologised.  
  
"Ah, yes, I've found an actual drawing of the amulet and a little information regarding it but it's in Latin so it's taking me a little while longer to translate it correctly." Giles said,  
  
"And the book makes reference to an ancient scroll called the... um... " Giles picked up a book and read down a few lines and then continued, "... It's called the Rumadien Thesis. It's said to contain information on the amulet and the Syrma-Matis Clan and may prove extremely useful to us, if only we could get it."  
  
"But how? The only person we ever ask to get us stuff like that has a huge hole in his chest!" Buffy said.  
  
"I know. That's why it's going to prove a little difficult!" Giles said. "I can phone the council to see if they have it or if they can get it. At this stage they're our only hope."  
  
"Ok. Thanks. I have to go. I have math!" And Buffy headed for her morning math class.  
  
After class Buffy, Xander and Willow all met up at Xander's locker while he dumped his books from his morning classes and got his lunch. Oz soon joined them as they chatted about the recent events with Angel. Oz put his arm around Willows waist and kissed her cheek. He smiled at the rest of the gang to let them know what he was saying. The gang now knew Oz was a man of few words and his facial expressions spoke volumes!  
  
Principal Snyder walked down the hall toward them and looked at Oz and Willow. "Are you cold Miss Rosenberg?" Snyder asked in his usual patronising tone.  
  
"No, why would I be... Oh!" Willow said realising what he meant and her and Oz separated. Principal Snyder gave them all his usual look of disapproval and walked off muttering to himself "These public displays of affection are not acceptable in my school. It's not orderly!" And then he disappeared around a corner.  
  
"Thank God the Snyd-man's gone! He gives me the creeps!" Buffy said.  
  
"Yeah, he's so much like a Nazi it's frightening!" Xander said and they all made their way to the library to see Giles and to help him with any more research that needed doing.  
  
"Where's Cordelia?" Buffy asked no one in particular.  
  
"Oh, she's at the salon! Hair and beauty therapy day!" Xander said. "Oh my God! How girly did that just sound?"  
  
"Ah, yes. Beauty tips aside, there's still a lot we don't know about the amulet and we don't have a clue about a cure so I say we get to work." Giles said in a successful attempt to organize everyone.  
  
"Did you phone the council?" Buffy asked Giles.  
  
"Yes I did, no luck I'm afraid. But they're looking into it." He said.  
  
"I'll hit the internet again. See if I can find any pagans or wiccas online that might be able to help or at least give us some advice." Willow said.  
  
"Good thinking." Buffy said.  
  
Buffy began to walk back out of the library.  
  
"Where are you going Buffy?" Willow asked.  
  
"The one place we haven't tried yet." 


	12. Do Or Die

Buffy entered the cool, dark sanctuary of Willie's Bar in Downtown Sunnydale. It was a damp and dark place where the undead liked to have a drink that contained anything from haemoglobin to Yak Urine! Buffy looked around and saw demons of all shapes and sizes sat in booths and at tables with other demons and vampires gambling, having a quiet drink or merely talking about people they'd killed at the weird and twisted ways they'd killed them. Buffy approached the bar and Willie said a little louder than would have been necessary in a regular bar, "Oh, hello slayer. What can I err, what can I do for you?" And many of the more supernatural customers made their way into the safety of the back room.  
  
"Can I get ya a drink?" Willie asked Buffy.  
  
"No. I want information." Buffy said quite aggressively and impatiently.  
  
"I haven't heard anything. Not me. I'm stayin' away from that whole scene now." Willie said a little uneasy.  
  
"You're lying. How about I punch your face and then see if it all comes flooding back to you?" Buffy asked in a tone Willie knew all to well he shouldn't refuse.  
  
He leant closer to her and she leant nearer him. He whispered, "Ok, so maybe I heard a few things. A new demon's held up in town. He's layin' low now though now. At least for a while." He said.  
  
"Where?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Old warehouse, about 10 blocks from here."  
  
"Angels hurt. The demon guy stabbed him. You know where I get some information on a cure?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Angel's hurt?" Willie asked.  
  
"Yeah and he's gonna live and what do you think he's gonna do to you if he finds out you wouldn't help me?" Buffy said intimidating him.  
  
"Ya know, I know a guy. He's good with curses and poisons and all that stuff. He lives on the outskirts of town-pretty big house. About two miles from here, near the railway station. It's just past it-up the hill." Willie said.  
  
"What about the demon?" Buffy asked getting impatient but taking in all the information she was given.  
  
"Ya know what? It's all comin' back to me now. Yeah someone might have mentioned something about a Ru... Rumanian... " He struggled with the pronunciation.  
  
"Rumadien." Buffy said for him.  
  
"Yeah, a Rumadien Thesis. Lots of stuff about an amulet and stuff- pretty useful I'll wager." He said.  
  
"Ya know where I can get it?" Buffy asked him.  
  
"A few vamps got it. They're keeping it to sell on the black market. They're always hanging around Weatherly Park." He finished. "That's all I know."  
  
Buffy gave him an I'll-kill-you-if-you're-lying look.  
  
"That's it I swear!" Willie said backing away.  
  
"Thanks" Buffy said quietly and turned and walked out of the bar into the warm and sunlit day and headed back to school.  
  
********************  
  
Giles moved from his office and to the table in the library to get another book as Buffy entered the library. "I got some information from Willie about the amulet and a possible cure." Buffy said.  
  
"You went to beat up Willie? That's what I usually do. It makes me feel more manly!" Xander said.  
  
"I couldn't risk you getting hurt Xand." Buffy said.  
  
"Well, good work Buffy." Giles congratulated her.  
  
"Yeah but a bunch of vamps got the Thesis. But I have to get it tonight coz they're planning on selling it. I wanna get it as soon as I can." She said.  
  
"Don't go alone Buffy. It isn't safe." Giles warned her.  
  
"It's never safe but I don't wanna risk anyone getting hurt. Not after what happened to Angel.  
  
"But what if you meet the Syrma-Matis demon? I mean he must have been strong if he could disable Angel like that." Oz said.  
  
"If I do meet him. Then it's me or him!" Buffy said. 


	13. Anger Management The Slayer Way!

Dim streetlamps lit the roads and sidewalks surrounding Weatherly Park. Buffy heard faint talking and laughing noises in the distance. The vamps are definitely here she thought to herself.  
  
Buffy was dressed in dark blue denim jeans, a long black leather coat, a black slash neck long-sleeved top and black boots with her hair pulled back into a neat ponytail. She blended quite well into the shadows, which was essential being the slayer.  
  
Buffy climbed up the metal fence keeping out any unwanted visitors at this time of night and she cautiously made her way to where she thought the vamps were judging from the sounds she'd heard. She kept to the trees and moved almost silently amongst them. Through the trees she came to a clearing. At the edge of the clearing on the other side she saw three shadows. Her slayer senses told her-vampires. She cautiously walked around the edge of the clearing, still in the shadows cast by the weak light from the moon and being careful not to rustle any fallen leaves or snap a twig underfoot. As she neared the vampires, she noticed one of them had something in its hand. It was slightly crumpled yet still neatly tied up with a piece of red material. She knew it had to be the Thesis Scroll. She looked at the two other vampires and one of them was tall and slim and he had a small axe and the other was female but slightly chubby and she had a large knife. That doesn't look good Buffy thought. The vamps grouped together, obviously waiting to sell the scroll to someone-tonight. Good job I'm impatient Buffy thought to herself. She studied the vampires for a moment, knowing she couldn't let the one with the scroll get away but she also had to be careful of the other two vamps who were armed. Buffy gathered up her courage and slowly walked out from the shadows. "Is this a private party or can anyone join in?" She joked.  
  
"Slayer!" Said the vamp with the axe.  
  
"Kill her!" Said the vampire with the scroll as he turned to run in the opposite direction.  
  
"And where do you think your going?" Buffy said. "The party games haven't even started yet!" and she ran him kicking him to the ground as the other two vampires ran at her. She shoved the male vampire right past her and pulled his axe out of his hand in the process. She quickly spun around and threw the axe at the female vampires neck; beheading her before she had a chance to do any real damage. "One down, two to go!" Buffy said. The vampire with the Thesis scroll had now got up and the vamp that she shoved flew into a tree. Buffy kicked the vampire with the scroll on the side of the face knocking him to the ground again. She knelt down, pulled a stake out from up her sleeve and staked him from behind. Moments before he turned into a pile of dust she yanked the scroll out of his hand and slid it down the inside of her coat and into a concealed pocket.  
  
The other vamp recovered and ran at her, he swung for the right side of her face, she blocked it and gave an uppercut to his jaw. He stumbled backwards but recovered and managed to give Buffy a stiff kick in the abdomen. She bent over and he knocked her to the ground and she lie on her stomach. She rolled over onto her back to avoid a punch from the vamp in her head. She rolled back onto her shoulders and pushed down hard on the ground, swung herself forward and used the momentum to get herself back onto her feet. She turned around, punched the vamp hard on the side of the face causing him to round and she then kicked him in the ribs and he spun around to face her. She then plunged the stake into his heart. He immediately turned to dust.  
  
Buffy walked away, pleased she'd managed to get the scroll and kill the three vamps. She'd only counted on getting the scroll and then running but a spot of violence before bedtime was just what she needed to get rid of some pent up anger over the whole Angel situation. She figured she'd better take the scroll to Giles-he was the only one who'd find any use for it and she could then sleep and not worry for a change.  
  
So, she went to Giles, gave him the scroll and he was very impressed that she'd got the scroll and killed the vampires guarding it. She left Giles's apartment feeling happy for once in a long time and headed home.  
  
She thought she'd take a shortcut, so she ducked down an alley, which would shorten her walk home by about ten minutes. Looking forward to an early bedtime-she hurried home. She heard a noise- a loud clatter. She stopped dead in her tracks. She slowly paced forward, her senses alert to her surroundings and in the shadow of the large dumpster to her left, a tall hooded and familiar figure stepped out in front of her. It lifted its head up and all that could be seen from under the hood were two bright green glowing eyes! 


	14. Riddles

"Ya Know, if you keep following me like this people will start to talk! Or I'll need to get a restraining order on you Mr!" Buffy joked trying to hide the pangs of fear she felt knowing the demon could do to her what it did to Angel.  
  
The demon continued to stare at Buffy and in his deep masculine voice said, "Now you will die slayer!"  
  
"Been there, done that!" Buffy said and launched herself in the air landing a kick to the demons chest knocking him flying back into a dumpster. He also managed to knock over a near by trashcan creating another loud clatter and this one was joined by a scared cats meow echoing down the alleyway.  
  
The demon got up, leaving a large dint in the dumpster where he'd hit it. He grabbed Buffy by the throat, his glowing green eyes almost hypnotising her and he slapped her hard across her cheek. She stamped hard on his foot, elbowed him in the stomach and then used the heel of her palm to hit him at the base of his nose-or at least where his nose aught to be because the hood masked his face in darkness. He stumbled backwards in pain, through and open door of a nearby warehouse and fell to the floor. Buffy ran to the door, closed it and stuffed a long length of metal piping she'd found lying around through the two handles. She knew the demon would get out sooner rather than later so she ran as fast as she could home. Her mom was in bed so she locked all the windows and doors and went upstairs. Her head was stinging from where the demon hit her. She looked in the mirror and saw a cut on her forehead above her left eye. She dabbed it with some cotton wool and antiseptic she found in the bathroom. That made it sting even more but it would have nearly healed by morning. Slayer strength gave her accelerated healing powers so she'd probably only have a graze by morning. She put a plaster over it to stop it blood staining her pillow.  
  
She didn't fall asleep easily. Tossing and turning. She found it hard to settle but eventually fell asleep.  
  
Buffy was stood in Shady Hill cemetery, the cool evening breeze blowing on her face keeping the intense heat surrounding her at bay-for now at least. Buffy looked down to see a large fire burning in front of her. The dazzling orange and yellow flames illuminating the spot where she stood. It felt familiar-the trees, the bend in the road ahead and the scarce amount of headstones. She gazed deep into the fire, the brilliant colours mesmerised her in the dark of the night. She felt a pain in her head. She reached up to touch it and her fingertips were covered with blood. She felt compelled to hold her hand over the fire feeling it warm against her skin. The blood formed teardrops on the end of her fingertips and they fell into the fire almost as if in slow motion. The roar of the flames grew louder as the tips of them turned to a green-blue colour. Buffy, still gazing into the flames, saw a silhouette appear amongst them. A hooded silhouette she knew all to well was that of the Syrma-Matis demon.  
  
Out of the darkness and shadows Angel approached her. She looked up at him. He slowly walked up to her and he stopped on the opposite of the fire. He held up the amulet, which he dangled on its chain from his hand. He looked up at Buffy and said to her and said, "Aren't you forgetting something?" He swayed the amulet.  
  
"Why am I here?" She asked puzzled.  
  
"You'll figure it out." Angel replied.  
  
Buffy looked back into the raging fire. Suddenly it dawned on her where she was. The familiarity was no longer a riddle. She was stood in the exact spot where Angel had been stabbed only a few nights ago. Buffy blinked, not believing what she'd just witnessed and instead of seeing the blazing flames juxtaposed against the gloomy night, she saw her own bedroom in the early morning light. 


	15. Trusting

"Hey" Buffy said entering Angel's bedroom. He opened his eyes and looked at her. He tried to speak but all he could manage was a weak smile. She sat next to him on his bed and she stroked his hair trying to comfort him. She kissed his forehead and then his lips and he kissed her back.  
  
"I... I don't think I can last much longer Buffy." Angel said seeming in more pain than he ever had been. "It hurts so much. I can't... I can't Buffy." Angel's eyes filled up with tears.  
  
"No!" Buffy protested. "You have to be strong." She started crying. "You can't leave me. I need you. I can't do this alone Angel." She said weeping. She whispered, "I love you."  
  
A tear rolled down Angel's face, "I love... love you Buffy. But it's too much-the pain. It... It's worse." He said barely able to get his words out.  
  
"You're not gonna die. Not like this! Besides, we've almost got it now. We just a day-two at the most. I need you to hold on. I need you to be strong for me. Please." She pleaded in floods of tears.  
  
"I've lived a long time. I've done so many horrible things to so many innocent people. I... I don't deserve to... to live. I should have died along time ago Buffy." Angel said.  
  
"But you didn't. You didn't. And you're not going to die. I won't let you." She said.  
  
"You have to let me Buffy." Angel said with tears streaming down his face.  
  
"No!" Buffy said trying to shout but the tears preventing it. She got up and marched out of the mansion. She ran to Giles's apartment and banged on the door until he opened it. He stood in the doorway-still in his pyjamas, as school didn't start for another 2 hours. "Buffy? What are you doing here at this hour?" He asked.  
  
She just hugged him and cried in his arms. All he could do was comfort her. He sat her down and she told him everything that had just happened with Angel.  
  
"Oh Buffy, I'm terribly sorry." He said concerned.  
  
"Don't be." She said. "I'm going to save him. I don't want to lose him Giles. Not again."  
  
"Well, I was up until God knows what time last night researching the amulet further using the Rumadien Thesis scroll. It proved most helpful. It also mentions that destroying the stone will destroy the demons power." He said.  
  
"So that's it? All we have to do is destroy that stone on the amulet?" Buffy asked.  
  
"No, I'm afraid it's rather more complicated than that." Giles said.  
  
"How? Why?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Because destroying the stone only destroys the demons power you see. It won't cure Angel or actually kill the demon itself. It may even hinder Angel's cure if you do destroy it now." Giles said.  
  
"Hinder his cure? How?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Well, you may need the amulet to cure him. The thesis mentions the amulet being in a ritual but there's no detail." He said.  
  
Buffy suddenly remembered her dream. "I had a... a dream. Last night. About Angel and the Syrma-Matis demon." Buffy said.  
  
She told Giles all about it and about the man Willie had recommended who knows about curses and poisons.  
  
"I think you should go and see this... person Willie told you of." Giles said.  
  
"You do?" Buffy asked surprised.  
  
Giles nodded.  
  
"How do we know he wasn't lying? I mean the guy could kill me or something." Buffy told him.  
  
"I doubt it. I think Willie knows enough about your strength and what you could do to him if he did lie! I don't think you've got anything to worry about." Giles said. "Do you want to help Angel or not?" 


	16. The Test Of The Righteous

Buffy only just managed to get through the day at school. She was eager to help Angel and she was nervous about meeting the guy Willie said would be able to help her. She figured she'd go straight after school to get it over and done with. So, after school she dumped her books and her bag and in her locker, left school and got on a bus to the railway station. She walked past the station and up a small hill and sure enough, like Willie had said- there was a large house. The grounds weren't to well kept-over grown shrubs, trees blocking most of the light out from the front of the house and the ivy in the hanging baskets next to the main entrance to the house almost touched the floor. Buffy didn't get the bad guy vibe when she walked up the gravel driveway and banged the oversized doorknocker on the sturdy, aged oak door.  
  
Buffy waited for a second and then the door opened and a man appeared from behind it. He was of medium height and build. Not overly muscled but not scrawny. He had a pleasant face, gleaming white teeth and a short, light brown hair. He was simply dressed in a grey shirt, black trousers and Buffy really liked his shoes. They were those posh black ones that always made man a look smart.  
  
Buffy actually thought he was quite cute apart from the scar across the right side of his face, which came over his nose and half way down his cheek.  
  
He invited Buffy in and said, "I've been expecting you."  
  
"Expecting me?" She questioned.  
  
He didn't answer. He led her through the main entrance of his house, which had two extravagant stairways leading upstairs-one at each side of the room. He took Buffy into a small room on the east wing of his house. It had all sorts of weird and wonderful objects in it. Lots of statues-Buffy assumed-of Gods and Goddesses. He also had a bookshelf that looked a lot like Giles's. Shelf after shelf of musty old books!  
  
"Please sit." He told her.  
  
"She sat in an armchair. The cushion seat made of red velvet and the frame of varnished oak. He sat opposite her in a chair much the same. Between them was a small round table with a blue cloth draped over it and a map of the solar system on the top. He leaned on it and looked up at Buffy expecting her to talk.  
  
"Oh. Yeah. Um... I need your help. My friend. He's... " She trailed off.  
  
"Dying." The man finished for her in a Russian type accent.  
  
"Yeah. There's a cure I need. From a... a poison. I was told you'd give it to me. Well... help me with it." Buffy said.  
  
"Why should I help you? Are you sure the person you're trying to save is worthy of my help? But then, he's not really a person is he?" He said.  
  
"Worthy? He never said anything about having to be worthy." Buffy said.  
  
"He?" The man asked her.  
  
"The guy who sent me to you. I was told you're good with poisons. If you won't help me then I'll find someone who will." Buffy said.  
  
"I never said I wouldn't help you. I just can't be sure if he's worthy of my help." The man said.  
  
"He is. He helps people. He helps them just like I do." Buffy said defending Angel.  
  
"He's a vampire-you're a slayer. You wish to save your enemy?" The man asked.  
  
"He is not my enemy-he's good now. He has a soul. He cares about people. He's a soldier to the Powers That Be just like I am. Are gonna let this demon take Angel away from the world he's sworn to protect?" Buffy asked with tears in her eyes.  
  
"I've heard a many a story about Angelus miss, and from what I hear, he's not always been the 'Angel' you describe." The man said.  
  
"No he hasn't. But he hasn't drunk human blood for a hundred years. Yeah he was a monster I admit that." Buffy said.  
  
"Did he not revert back to Angelus just last year miss?" The man asked referring to the unfortunate incident of Buffy's seventeenth birthday.  
  
"How did you know about that? That's in the past. Just like every other horrible thing he's ever done. It's over. Done with. He's good now and the present and the future are all that matter." Buffy pleaded with him.  
  
"Only he who is worthy shall be restored. The righteous shall reign and all others are doomed to perish. That's that way it was, is and ever shall be. Don't you see?" He asked her.  
  
Buffy stood up now in floods of tears because she doesn't think she's getting any closer to helping Angel.  
  
"Angel is a righteous man. I love him." Buffy said.  
  
"Love is blinding you. Clouding your judgement." The man said to her.  
  
"No! It's showing me! Showing me how someone can be redeemed. How you can find a balance between good and evil. Angel has evil in him-he always will but right now he has the power to do real good. He's willing to put his life on the line everyday and night to save innocent people. People others leave for dead. He's sacrificed so much. If you can't see that, if you can just leave him to die after all the good and honourable things he's done. Then I guess you're just going to have to live with yourself knowing that you've taken a righteous man on the path to redemption away from a world that needs him." Buffy's tears streaming down her face, as she thinks how she might never see Angel again.  
  
"You know how to save him Buffy. You've been shown the way. All I can do is tell you this. Prophecies are tricky things-they don't tell you everything. You already know that. You know the answers Buffy. You've seen and felt them." He said.  
  
"You put me through all that and this is what you tell me?" Buffy said confused and crying.  
  
"I had to be sure you were as honourable as you said you were. It was a test-you passed. You truly are worthy of my help." He replied and smiled. He then got up and stood in the centre of the room. On the floor there was a sacred circle that he stood in the centre of. It was surrounded by three red candles and three white candles all lit and Buffy thought she could smell sandalwood incense. He opened his arms up to the sky and said, "Release. Release the righteous. They know the way. The light is theirs. Release."  
  
Buffy looked at him unsure of what he was doing. He shouted, "RELEASE!" and a swirling mass of white and blue formed between his arms. Buffy could hear whispers, some faint and some louder but she couldn't make out what they were saying. A young girls head and half her body formed inside the great mass of energy. Buffy thought she was quite pretty. She spoke softly to Buffy, "We've given you dreams and we've shown you the way. Listen and trust in yourself and salvation is yours. Trust yourself and we and the righteous are free. You are the key slayer." Buffy listened intently to what she had to say and then in the blink of an eye she disappeared, as did the swirling energy. The man dropped to the floor. Obviously drained of energy. She rushed over to him and he started to get up but holding his head. "What was that?" She asked.  
  
"What you came looking for." He said. "You save he that is worthy and free others that were not so fortunate." He paused. Holding his head in pain. "That's going to give me one hell of a headache. I hope it was worth it. Take what is on the table and do not come to me again." He said.  
  
"Thank you I won't." Buffy said.  
  
She looked up at the table where a piece of parchment lay. She took it, quickly looked at it to see that it was the incantation to Angel's cure-The Valiturus Subrutum, a drawing of the ritual and she promptly rolled it back up and headed out of the house. She turned around to take one last look at the house and to quietly thank the man that helped her but all she saw was a beautiful green meadow with tall grass and laced with lavender. He had gone. 


	17. The Picture Show

Buffy hadn't realised how late it was. It'll be dark soon she thought. I better get home. During the journey home Buffy was planning her next move. She knew she needed the Syrma-Matis demon for the cure. But the demon was extremely strong and so she thought about self-defence tactics, fighting techniques and combos that she could use against it. The bus dropped her off just down the street from her house. Buffy sauntered home a little tired. She went to her room and lay on her bed for a moment. Suddenly, Buffy felt a sharp pain cruise throughout her whole body starting in her feet and shooting up into her head. Buffy immediately held her head as she lay on her bed; she rolled over onto her side and pulled her knees up to her chest. She clenched her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut because of the pain.  
  
Images flashed in Buffy's brain, first there was Angel leaning on the mantel piece at the mansion, then it quickly shifted to show her own face with her cut on her forehead bleeding and then it shifted back to Angel still leaning on the mantelpiece; a blood stain forming where he'd been stabbed. Then Buffy saw herself stood in front of the fire at Shady Hill, the tips of the flames blue and the main body of the fire glowing green. She then saw herself stab the demon in the heart with a gleaming silver sword. Buffy looked down and she saw the demon lying in a heap in the flames. Angel was on the other side of the flames as he had been in her dream. He had the Rumadien Amulet in his hand. He said to her, "Don't forget." The words echoed in her head. She then saw herself stood beside the fire in the cemetery, holding the parchment the man who'd she'd seen earlier that day had given her.  
  
Buffy's head suddenly cleared. There were no more flashing images. Buffy opened her eyes, breathing heavily and trying to comprehend what she'd just seen.  
  
Buffy rolled over on her bed onto her back, still breathing heavily and thinking what to do next.  
  
She knew Angel wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer. He'd already told her that. Buffy decided she wanted to kill the demon as soon as she could. She was going to do it tonight. She changed into some clothes she could actually fight in. Out of her pink skirt and white sleeveless top and into her black leather trousers, red fitted top and a long black coat. She put her boots on and picked a sword out of her weapons box. Her mom was working late at the gallery so she knew she wouldn't see her leave the house with a sword in her hand. Buffy's mom still had a problem with stakes let alone swords!  
  
********************  
  
Downtown, near Willie's bar, Buffy patrolled all the back streets and alleys hoping to find the Syrma-Matis demon. She looked for almost an hour and decided she'd come back tomorrow and hope she could kill him in time to save Angel. She turned around to take one last street. She saw a shadow in the distance and recognised it to be that of the Syrma-Matis demon! "Slayer!" He said.  
  
"Yeah you said that already! Do you know any other words coz that ones gone stale!" She joked.  
  
She turned, ran the other way and the demon followed her. She tried to get as near to Shady Hill as she could.  
  
Come on. Follow Buffy She thought as she glanced back while the demon slowly followed her. She kept to the back streets as much as she could. Eventually she neared Shady Hill cemetery. She could see the entrance up ahead. She glanced back again to make sure the demon was still following her and he was. She slowed so the Syrma-Matis demon could catch up with her. He did, immediately knocked her to the ground and she dropped her sword. Buffy rolled back onto her shoulders and pushed herself up, kicking the demon in the stomach in the process. He stumbled backwards and swung at Buffy with his left fist, she blocked and punched him with her free hand and kneed him in the stomach. He bent over in pain and she shoved her knee up into his face. He recovered, hit Buffy on the side of the face, turned and kicked her in the ribs so she spun around facing away from him. He then kicked her in the spine and she hit the outer brick wall of Shady Hill. He ran at her, she ducked and he hit the wall with some force. She tripped him over, sat on him and punched him in the face. He shoved her off and rolled on top of her. He raised his arm and Buffy saw the poisonous spike protruding from it. The one he had used to stab Angel and was now going to stab her with. She looked at him with fear in her expression. She glanced to her left and saw her sword. With all her might she shoved the demon to her right and stretched over him to get her sword. She successfully reached it and plunged it in deep into the Syrma-Matis's heart. She got up and backed away to make sure the demon was dead and he just lay limp on the Tar- Mac road. Blood was oozing from the wound. Buffy walked back over to the demon, she removed the sword, raised it high in the air so she could get some force behind her next move and she slammed it down hard on the demon's weapon-his spike on his arm.  
  
She sliced through it easily with her sword and green fluid oozed out over the demon and spread onto the ground.  
  
Buffy didn't hesitate to hoist the demon up over her shoulder and walk into the deserted Shady Hill cemetery. She dumped the demons body close to where Angel was stabbed concealing him in a spot densely populated by trees and ground shrubbery. Now all she could do was wait until tomorrow night. 


	18. The Battle

It was lunchtime at Sunnydale high and Oz, Willow, Giles, Cordelia and Xander were seated at the library table waiting for Buffy.  
  
She ran through the library doors to see them patiently waiting for her.  
  
"You know you really shouldn't run on day like this. It's bad for the skin!" Cordelia remarked seconds after Buffy entered the library.  
  
"Thank you Cordelia!" Giles said in a semi-harsh tone.  
  
"Um... Buffy? Why are we here?" Willow asked her.  
  
"Well, I've asked you all to come here because I've got the cure for Angel and I'm pretty sure I know what I'm doing. And I'm gonna do it tonight." Buffy said.  
  
"Yeah that's great but I still don't get the us being here part!" Cordelia said.  
  
"I need your help. All of you." She said. "Nothing can go wrong tonight. And this being the Hellmouth- it's inevitable it will! So I need you to help me."  
  
"How?" Oz asked.  
  
"While I'm doing the ritual at Shady Hill, I need you guys to protects me. I doubt it'll take longer than twenty minutes but I'm not sure!" Buffy said.  
  
"I'm game!" Xander replied.  
  
"Thanks Xand." Buffy smiled at him. "Ooh Giles, could you bring the amulet tonight?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Yes. Where do you propose we meet up?" He asked.  
  
"I was thinking here?" Buffy said. "At about nine? I need the cemetery to be clear while we're there. I want no interruptions."  
  
"Ooh look at you being little miss bossy boots!" Cordelia remarked again.  
  
"Look, do you want to help or not?" Buffy asked her.  
  
"Yeah, ok! Whatever!" Cordelia said.  
  
"I can be wheel man. We can take my van there." Oz said.  
  
"Thanks. I'll get what I need. The Syrma-Matis demon's at the cemetery." Buffy said.  
  
"Err Buffy? The demons at the cemetery?" Willow asked.  
  
"Yeah. I had to kill it. When I went to see that guy Willie told me about. The one I told you all about yesterday. I had a kind of vision and in it the demon was dead! I saw myself kill it!" Buffy told her."  
  
"Guy?" Xander asked. "You were alone with a strange guy in his house?"  
  
"Yeah. He helped me!" Buffy replied.  
  
"Did he even have a name?" Xander inquired.  
  
"Ya know, I never thought to ask." Buffy said puzzled. "But I don't think he was human coz when I looked back at his house after I left it'd gone!"  
  
"Like disappeared?" Oz asked.  
  
"Yeah. Poof-gone!" Buffy said. "It was weird! So we all meet at nine?" She asked.  
  
"We meet at nine." Willow spoke for everyone.  
  
********************  
  
"You meet at nine?" Angel asked Buffy.  
  
"Yeah. I'm gonna save you Angel. You might be ready to go but I am not ready to lose you ok." Buffy said sitting next to him on his bed.  
  
"If I don't make it... if the cure doesn't... if it doesn't work I want you to know... I want you to know I love you Buffy. Always. Not even death can change that." Angel said.  
  
"Don't talk like that. It won't come to that." She smiled at him. "I love you." She whispered. Buffy kissed him on the lips. "I have to go. Get ready for tonight. Hold on ok. Be strong. I know you can do it!" Buffy said and left the warmth of Angel's candlelit bedroom for the cool dusky air outside.  
  
********************  
  
"You bring the amulet?" Buffy asked Giles.  
  
"Ah, yes." He searched his pockets, "Here!" He handed it to her.  
  
"Right, are we all ready?" Buffy asked.  
  
They all left the library and headed to Oz's van. They were all armed should there be a battle. Oz had a stake, Willow had a crossbow and Xander and Giles both had axes. When they reached the cemetery Buffy briefed them on what the ritual entailed. Then they headed through the gloomy cemetery until they neared the spot where Angel was stabbed and where Buffy had concealed the demon.  
  
"Ok, I need you to form a kind of circle around me. But spread out." Buffy said.  
  
They all set out, surrounding Buffy at different points in the cemetery. If there were to be an attack, at least one of them would know about it.  
  
"Good luck Buffy." Willow said and hugged her best friend and she too set out to find a spot to patrol.  
  
Buffy walked to the spot where Angel had been stabbed. There was a stone bench by a tall beech tree whose leaves had turned orange due to the autumn season. The road from her dream was up ahead. She knew she was in the right place.  
  
"Ok. Here goes!" Buffy said to herself.  
  
She placed her bag down on the ground, took out her matches and a large bag of barbeque coals she'd picked up from the store on the way to the library. She placed it down on the ground where she had found Angel. Buffy then walked over to the nearby bush where she'd hidden the Syrma-Matis demon. She pushed the branches back and the demon lay there just as Buffy had left him. She dragged him over to the spot where she'd perform the ritual. She also took a few pieces of wood to burn later on.  
  
Buffy lit the bag of charcoal and it burned quite easily. She added the wood she'd taken from the bushes and the fires heat and size increased. Buffy let it burn for a little while and she took the Valiturus Subrutum parchment out of her bag.  
  
She breathed in deeply. She hated saying Latin. If she got the pronunciation wrong it could ruin the whole ritual.  
  
She placed the parchment onto the stone bench next to her. She took a small, sharp knife out of her pocket. She slid it across her palm flinching at the pain. As she did it she read aloud from the parchment the first line of the incantation: "Tractum itum adfinis citro ab accio abeo." She held her hand over the blazing flames and wiggled her fingers so the blood would fall into the fire. "Conloco hic bellator solutum!"  
  
********************  
  
Angel called out in pain. He felt a burning sensation in his chest. His eyes began to water as he felt his own life slipping away. "Buffy?" He called out. Angel knew he wouldn't last much longer. He knew if Buffy wanted to help him she'd have to hurry.  
  
********************  
  
Giles stood alone, surrounded by ancient headstones with a grand mausoleum just ahead of him. He thought he could see something in the distance advancing toward him. He squinted to see if it would improve his vision. "Oh God!" He said. A group of five vampires were coming toward him. "Willow!" He shouted. She came running round the corner seconds later. "We've got company!" He told her and he pointed to the group of vampires.  
  
"Oh! Oh no! We have to protect Buffy." She said. "OZ! XANDER!" She shouted. Oz and Xander had met up around the other side of Buffy. They looked at each other when they heard Willow call them. "She's in trouble!" Oz said.  
  
They both ran to Willow.  
  
Giles, Xander, Oz and Willow stood strong as the vampires neared them.  
  
********************  
  
The flames roared louder and grew in size as Buffy let her blood into them. They slowly turned green and glowed blue on the flickering tips.  
  
Buffy said the next part of the ritual, "Amitto sertum adambulo cessum ha auris." She moved over to the demon and dragged him closer to the fire. She picked him up, her hand still bleeding painfully and she dropped the Syrma- Matis demon into the flames. The fire glimmered a deeper shade of green, the blue on the tips became more intense and cast an eerie glow over the cemetery.  
  
Buffy rummaged through her knapsack for the amulet. She eventually found it and she wore it around her neck.  
  
She felt a surge of power go through her body. She felt stronger than she had ever felt. Buffy turned her concentration to the fire the heat from it warming her skin and pressing hard against her face. The heat was becoming unbearable but Buffy soldiered on. "Amitto sertum ire solutum. Ab adeo audax adfinis castus. Ab adeo fortis adfinis arbitratus deservio adigo asumptivus aveo!" Buffy said raising her voice.  
  
********************  
  
Angel cried out, the pain in his chest now even more intense. His eyes began to glow green and his face changed from angelic to vampire and then back again. Angel squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to shut out the pain it was still there and getting worse. He cried out in pain again and louder this time.  
  
********************  
  
The vampires now only a few metres away from where the gang stood. Giles swung his axe at one of them, the vampire wasn't much taller than Giles and didn't look much stronger either but he blocked Giles's swing and gave him a stiff elbow in the face.  
  
Xander and Willow rushed at a female vampire; she was tall and had long red hair. They both pulled her arms back so Oz could stake her. But he kicked her knees first and she became unstable, the vampire kneeling down; Oz staked her.  
  
Another female vampire hit Willow on the back of the head; she fell to the ground and bumped into a seventeenth century headstone.  
  
Xander punched her but another vampire punched him back twice as hard. Meanwhile Oz was being cornered near the mausoleum by a vampire who must have been a body builder before he'd died because he had an extremely muscular body. Oz kicked him as hard as could in the stomach and the vamp doubled over. Oz slammed him head first into the wall of the mausoleum and then ran to help Giles. Giles was fending off two vampires quite successfully but needed help. Willow loaded her crossbow and aimed at one of the vamps fighting Giles. She hit one in the back and he fell to the ground. Xander dived on him, keeping him down, yanked out the arrow and immediately plunged it back into the vampire right in the heart. He exploded in a cloud of dust.  
  
********************  
  
Buffy said, "Solutum sertum adfinis amitto sertum ingen." As she pulled her coat-still soaked in Angels blood-out of her bag and cast it into the fire.  
  
She took a quick glance at the Valiturus Subrutum and continued, "Onis hic caminus ad condono ceptum hic adfinis integro sertum." She then removed the amulet from round her neck and said, "Hic ab adoleo. Hic ab additum!"  
  
She held the amulet high in the air above the fire and shouted, "Tractum solutum sertum!"  
  
********************  
  
Angel's eyes returned to their natural dark colour and suddenly he felt his life seeping back into him. The pain he'd become accustomed to was fading. He felt the wound healing on his chest and he smiled.  
  
********************  
  
Giles got punched in the jaw by the remaining vampire and the force of the blow pushed his glasses off his face. He stepped back still reeling from the force of the punch and he trod on them and felt them crumple under his foot. "Oh! Bloody hell!" He said. He regained his balance and ran hard into the vampire, knocking him down, he heaved his axe up in the air with his last remaining strength and brought it down hard on the vampires' neck. The vampire turned to dust. Giles got up and dusted himself down.  
  
Xander ran into the vampire who Oz shoved into the mausoleum wall but the vampire pushed Xander past him into the wall. Xander careered into the wall, hit it side on and slumped to the ground. The vampire ran off heading to where Buffy was.  
  
Oz managed to trip the last remaining vampire who hadn't run off and Willow quickly staked him. The whole gang then chased after the body-builder vampire heading for Buffy.  
  
********************  
  
Buffy dangled the Rumadien Amulet over the fires roaring blue-green flames, the swirling mist inside the diamond shaped stone in the centre of the amulet began to clear. Inside the stone an image began to form. An image of a man. Buffy recognised him immediately-it was Angel! As this was happening Buffy said, "Ceptum ductum tra aconitum adfinis solutum sertum. Amitto tra clades lapideus ire indolentia!"  
  
Buffy then slammed the amulet down on the ground and smashed the stone with the heel of her boot. A wave of green energy spread out from the amulet and shot out into the distance. Then, in a cloud of smoke the fire, the amulet and the Valiturus Subrutum parchment all disappeared just as the stray vampire launched itself at Buffy. She ducked and the vampire flew over her. As she was down on the ground she found a piece of wood she'd neglected to out into the fire and as the vampire ran at her she plunged it deep into his chest. He exploded turning to dust.  
  
********************  
  
Angel sat up in bed and he tried to speak but he couldn't. He laid back down on his bed and felt a force pulling his torso up off the bed. His head and legs remained on the bed. A green lightning bolt struck his chest and Angel screamed writhing in pain as it struck him. The energy dissolved into him and the pain totally disappeared. He had tears streaming down his face and all he could think of was Buffy.  
  
********************  
  
Buffy smiled at her friends. "I did it. I felt something powerful go through me." She said. "I only finished like a second before that vamp jumped me. It was a close call. If he'd have gotten me it could have been the end for Angel!"  
  
"Ah Buffy? Why was the amulet so important to you?" Giles asked.  
  
"The stone showed the demon his next target. Smash it and you kill their sight and free all the pure souls of other victims trapped within it!" She said. "The spirits told me!"  
  
"Oh!" Giles said a little confused and still only semi-conscious from being beaten up!  
  
They all smiled and felt a sense of relief that it was all over; Giles holding his smashed glasses and wiping blood away from his bruised and bleeding jaw, Xander holding his shoulder which had hit the wall hard; bruising it badly, Willow rubbing her head from hitting it on the headstone and Oz holding Willow with no real injuries of his own.  
  
They all looked at each other knowing all they wanted to was get out of Shady Hill cemetery as quickly as possible. 


	19. Epilogue

Willow, Oz and Cordelia sat around one of the taller tables in the bronze while Xander and Buffy stood. The bronze was fuller than usual tonight. They all had drinks and Xander was munching on a bowl of nibbles he'd bought.  
  
"So, Angel's gonna be ok?" Willow asked Buffy.  
  
"Yeah. He's meeting me here soon!" She said smiling with a hint of excitement in her voice.  
  
"Oh! I didn't show up last night did I? Oops!" Cordelia said sarcastically not really caring that she wasn't there. "I'd just had a fifty dollar manicure the other day and I didn't wanna break a nail!" Cordelia took a sip of her cappuccino.  
  
"I gotta go get ready for our set." Oz said as his band were playing at the Bronze tonight after the current one.  
  
"Ok." Willow said smiling and she gave him a lingering kiss. Buffy watched her feeling a little envious.  
  
"Hey!" A familiar voice said to Buffy. She turned around to see Angel standing behind her. She stood on her tiptoes and leant in to kiss him. He slid his arms around her waist and kissed her.  
  
"You wanna dance?" She asked him.  
  
"Sure" Angel replied and Buffy led him to the dance floor.  
  
The End 


End file.
